Enduring Beyond the End of the World
by Lady Bitter Irony
Summary: What would you say to the person you loved most if you knew you were never going to see them again? Arwen and Elrond's last meeting. Please read and let me know how I did.


I'm back! Here's my second fanfiction.I'm not sure if its as good as Tomorrow, but I hope you'll enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed Tomorrow, I hope you'll be so kind as to let me know how I did on this one.

Disclaimer; All proper nouns and a few not-so-proper ones are property of the Tolkien estate. I am currently in the process of trying to perchase Elladan and Elrohir from said estate, but my request must have gotten lost in the mail somewhere along the way.

Enduring Beyond the End of the World

Theoden's funeral fest was over, and the talk in the Golden Hall had turned from the deeds of the great king to the more mundane tasks of the visiting company. Aragorn and his knights were making the necessary preparations for the journey back to Gondor; the people of Lothlorien and Rivendell exchanged farewells amongst themselves and with their hosts. Elladan and Elrohir managed to break away from the other Rivendell Elves just long enough to say a hasty goodbye to their sister. They knew that, if all went well, they would soon meet again.

Elrond waited outside the hall, looking up at the stars overhead. The sun had long ago set in the west, but the Lord of Rivendell could not bring himself to look in that direction. Any joy he felt at finally leaving the cares of Middle Earth behind and coming to the shores of the Undying Lands had been utterly lost when he placed Arwen's hand in Aragorn's. His daughter was wed to the King of Gondor, and there would be no ship in Middle Earth to bring her into the west.

At length, the preparations for the next day's ride were complete, and Arwen came out to her father. They went into the hills surrounding Edoras. Both were silent, and their hearts were heavy with the knowledge that the farewell they were shortly to make would be an eternal one.

As they walked through the long grass and snowy simbelmyne, neither wished to be the one to break the silence between them. They reached a tall hill and stood side by side, eyes fixed on the sky overhead.

"Gilraen once said," Elrond began at last, "that it was not fitting that a mortal should wed one of the Eldar."

Arwen turned to him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Do you still think so, Ada? It is too late now to change my choice, even if I would."

"I will not say I do not with it different," said her father, "but I think now that perhaps Gilraen was wrong. Even the wise cannot see all ends, and this may be a better end than any could have imagined. You love Aragorn, and he loves you, and that is all that matters. If the price of your happiness is some of mine, so be it."

Suddenly overcome with sorrow, Arwen embraced her father warmly. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I did not mean to doubt you."

"Never will a day pass that I do not think of you. I wish you were not leaving; you should be here to watch my children grow. Will they, too, be forced to choose between either immortality or Middle Earth?"

"I cannot say," Elrond answered, "but I do not think it will be so. Cruel is the fate that separates us, and I want never for you to know the grief of losing your child forever."

For a moment there was only the sound of the wind in the meadow grasses. Arwen closed her eyes, feeling safe in her father's hold. A few tears spilled down her face, and Elrond gently brushed them away.

"We return to Minas Tirith tomorrow," the queen said. "Aragorn and I will return it to the glory it once had. I would make you proud of me, Ada."

"I am already proud of you," Elrond said, and he smiled despite his heartache. "I love you, Arwen Undomiel."

"I love you too. And I forgive you."

"Hannon le."

Arwen knew for what she had been thanked, just as Elrond knew what was forgiven. There were no more words needed between them, and so they both remained silent, solaced in each other's arms.

When the evenstar had been long set, Elrond returned to Meduseld to rest for the next day's journey. Arwen remained at length on the hill, picking the small white simbelmyne and letting the petals go in the wind from out of the west. Then at last she, too, returned to the Golden Hall, and the hills were empty of all but the memory of a parting bitter and a love sweet that should endure beyond the end of the world.


End file.
